Clock-Synced Transient Encryption for Man-in-the-Middle Defense
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing security measures, such as Transport Layer Security (TLS), are inadequate in mitigating man-in-the-middle-style attacks when a digital certificate is compromised, as they fail to protect data during client-server transactions if an attacker has access to the sensitive channel during initial trust establishment.
Innovation Solution
Implementing clock-synced transient encryption, where a seed value is generated and shared between a client system and a server system using a secure hashing algorithm (SHA) based on a synchronized clock, creating a transient encryption key that changes periodically, ensuring data encryption and decryption across client-server transactions remain secure even if the digital certificate is compromised.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If TLS-based encryption is used with digital certificates, then data transmission security is improved, but the system becomes vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks when the certificate is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic encryption keys that automatically change over time based on synchronized clocks between client and server. Instead of using a static digital certificate, the system generates transient encryption keys that are valid only for specific time intervals, making the encryption adaptive and time-sensitive. This dynamic approach ensures that even if an attacker compromises access at one moment, they cannot decrypt future communications.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the encryption parameter from a static digital certificate to a time-dependent transient key. The encryption key is derived from a seed value combined with a timestamp from a synchronized clock, creating a key that changes based on the time parameter. This parameter change transforms the security model from certificate-based to time-based encryption, eliminating the vulnerability to certificate compromise.
2Device complexity
If a static encryption key is used for client-server transactions, then encryption simplicity is improved, but ongoing security is compromised when the key is intercepted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic generation of encryption keys based on time intervals. The synchronized clocks on client and server systems generate keys at regular intervals, creating a periodic encryption scheme. Each key is valid only for its specific time period, and new keys are automatically generated as time progresses. This periodic action maintains simple key management while ensuring ongoing security through automatic key rotation.
3Reliability
If transient encryption keys that change frequently are implemented, then security against man-in-the-middle attacks is improved, but key synchronization complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a trusted time source or synchronized clock system as an intermediary between the client and server. Both parties use this common time reference to independently generate the same transient encryption keys without direct key exchange. The synchronized clock acts as a mediator that enables both parties to derive identical keys through a deterministic process, simplifying the synchronization mechanism while maintaining high security.
Data Source
AI summary
A request for a transaction between a client system and a server system may be processed. The transaction may be associated with transmission of data between the client system and the server system. The data may be encrypted using a transient encryption key to form encrypted data. The transient encryption key may be a synced-clock random number configured to automatically change when a designated time interval elapses. The encrypted data may be transmitted between the client system and the server system.